The Great Heavenly Sword Emperor - Chapter 35

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#035. Echoes of the Ravine (1)

As the sun touched the horizon, Cheon Mujul and Bukgung Danya departed Bohyeonsa, heading toward Eunpung Jeonjang.
Word of their departure reached Ammogak almost at once.
“Could it be a trap?”
Mo Jeongyun, who had been considering the question in silence, reached his decision and spoke.
“Whatever their intentions, they’ve definitely gone toward Eunpung Jeonjang. The route is entirely different—even if they turned back midway, they won’t arrive quickly.”
His eyes darted as if weighing something further.
“At minimum, we have half a shichen before they reach Eunpung Jeonjang—three shichen if they actually go there. That’s more than enough time. Send word to the Unhhabang immediately.”
“Yes.”
Once his subordinate had left, Mo Jeongyun gathered the scattered maps on his desk and put them away.
But that was not all.
He methodically hid every document and record that might be visible or easy to find, moving them to the deepest recesses of the space.
“I’ve done my part. Everything rests on him now.”
Mo Jeongyun muttered, thinking of Gwak Yunsang.

* * *

Though the hour was late, Seonghajeonbang hummed with activity.
Men moved briskly back and forth, methodically loading cargo onto carts.
“Move faster! We have no time!”
Gwak Yunsang drove his people forward.
The quantity was so vast that one cart proved insufficient; three more stood waiting to be filled.
“Hand it to me and go fetch more!”
Gwak Yunsang, too impatient to merely supervise, helped load the goods onto the carts himself.
After considerable time had passed, all four carts were finally full.
“Everything is loaded, sir.”
“What time is it?”
“Nearly midnight.”
“Damn it. We’ve wasted too much time. Hurry now. When you reach Pogu, a boat will be waiting. Load everything aboard.”
“Will you not be coming with us, sir?”
“I’ll follow shortly. Don’t worry.”
“Yes, sir.”
Gwak Yunsang watched his men pull the carts through the rear entrance of Seonghajeonbang, then turned back inside.
He surveyed the empty secret chamber.
He conducted a thorough inspection to ensure no evidence had been overlooked, then hurried out.
Emerging from the rear entrance of Seonghajeonbang, he mounted a horse that had been prepared in advance and spoke to the subordinate who had been waiting there.
“If we haven’t returned by dawn, notify Ammogak at once and hide yourselves.”
“But the establishment…”
“Right now, money doesn’t matter. Survival comes first. If they seize the evidence, they’ll come for our lives regardless of which side we belong to.”
“Understood. Please be careful.”
Leaving the subordinate’s warning behind, Gwak Yunsang spurred his horse toward Pogu at a gallop.

* * *

Cheon Mujul and Bukgung Danya had been riding hard for some time.
Upon reaching their designated meeting point, they found a monk from Bohyeonsa waiting for them.
“I have diverted their attention. From here, you need only turn toward Seonghajeonbang.”
“Understood.”
“Do not go to Seonghajeonbang itself. Instead, head to Pogu, which lies not far from it. I have heard they are transporting what appears to be evidence and moving it there.”
“When did this begin?”
“The transport from Seonghajeonbang to Pogu began less than a shike ago.”
At the monk’s words, Bukgung Danya did some calculations and turned to Cheon Mujul. “It will be close. Once they board the ship and depart, we’ll have no way to pursue them.”
Bukgung Danya’s words hung in the air.
Cheon Mujul opened his mouth. “Can you ride any faster?”

“Yes? Oh, of course.”
“Then I’ll increase our pace.”
After that, Cheon Mujul made one more request of the monk.
“Just in case, could you secure a boat for us?”
“We’re already working on it. We only learned late that you’d be traveling by water, so there’s been some delay.”
“No matter. It’s not too late—as long as we don’t fall too far behind.”
“Understood.”
“Let’s go.”
Hearing the monk’s reply, Cheon Mujul and Bukgung Danya turned and sprinted forward at a pace faster than ever before.

* * *

Gwak Yunsang and his men arrived at Pogu right on time.
The boat they’d prepared was large enough to hold the entire cart.
But because the cargo was so voluminous and heavy, loading it took longer than expected, and Gwak Yunsang’s frown deepened at every moment of delay.
Tap, tap, tap.
His foot drummed an impatient rhythm against the ground, his whole body radiating anxiety as he scanned the surroundings again and again.
Though he knew Cheon Mujul and Bukgung Danya had gone toward Eunpung Jeonjang, he couldn’t shake his unease.
Time slipped away in that anxiety, and at last all the cargo from the cart had been transferred to the boat.
Confirming this, Gwak Yunsang quickly boarded himself.
“Cast off the moorings! We set sail immediately!”
At Gwak Yunsang’s command, the crew hurried to cast off the lines, and the freed boat began to move slowly along the water.
Since they’d only just departed and hadn’t yet gathered speed, Gwak Yunsang’s urgency returned.
“Can’t we go any faster?”
“This isn’t a proper harbor—the water’s shallow and there are some rocks, so it’s difficult to move quickly.”
“Damn it!”
Gwak Yunsang bit at his fingernails.
Once they cleared this stretch and picked up speed, he could finally breathe easier.
The boat continued onward through his restlessness, and finally moved a considerable distance from the harbor.
Then the pace began to increase, and relief at last flickered across Gwak Yunsang’s face.
“Ah…….”
Gwak Yunsang finally exhaled in relief, but he didn’t know.
That two pairs of eyes were watching this entire scene.

* * *

“We’re too late!”
Though Cheon Mujul and Bukgung Danya had pushed hard to increase their speed, by the time they reached Pogu, the boat had already departed.
It was still visible in the distance, but it was far enough away.
“Damn it! What about the boat you were supposed to prepare?!”
Bukgung Danya spoke as he quickly scanned the surroundings.
But Cheon Mujul remained calm.
“We don’t need a boat.”
“What? What do you mean? We have to pursue them!”
Without answering, Cheon Mujul watched the boat with steady eyes and unwound the leather wrapping from the Cheon Shin Geom.
“Cheon Mujul?”
Bukgung Danya called out to him, frustrated at not understanding what he meant to do.
“Stay here for now.”
With those words, Cheon Mujul began to run swiftly along the water’s edge.
“Wait—Cheon Mujul!”
Bukgung Danya called after him as he receded into the distance, but Cheon Mujul didn’t stop.
And then, at a certain moment.
Whip!
Cheon Mujul hurled the leather cord that had wrapped the Cheon Shin Geom toward the boat.
The leather stretched taut as it flew, and without a running start, Cheon Mujul lightly launched himself up into the air above the water.
“Cheon Mujul!”
Bukgung Danya cried out in shock.
But seeing what came next, Bukgung Danya couldn’t utter a word.
Whoosh! Thump!
In a single graceful motion, Cheon Mujul lightly stepped upon the airborne leather cord and launched himself higher, soaring once more.
With momentum on his side, Cheon Mujul closed the distance to the vessel swiftly, landing lightly upon its deck.
“Ha ha ha.”
Bukgung Danya was so flabbergasted that words failed him entirely.
He had no choice but to wait quietly where he stood, just as Cheon Mujul had said.

* * *

“Gasp!”
The moment Cheon Mujul touched down on the deck with that astonishing Gyeong Gong, Gwak Yunsang couldn’t help but start in alarm.
The instant he appeared, the very air around them transformed.
“Leave whatever’s aboard and go.”
Cheon Mujul spoke, his gaze sweeping over the frightened men.
But those gripped by terror had no capacity to answer.
Creak! Creak!
With each step Cheon Mujul took, the wooden planks groaned beneath him.
“S-set fire! Set fire to it!”
Gwak Yunsang’s voice rang out.
At this point, their only choice was to burn the evidence and sink the ship, destroying it utterly.
The men who had been backing away suddenly moved with urgency.
Still, Cheon Mujul made no sudden move.
Yet that did not mean he would simply allow them to erase the evidence.
Creak!
As the deck shrieked, the ship lurched violently.
And Cheon Mujul vanished from sight.
Slash!
The wrist of the man holding the torch was severed.
“Aaaaagh!”
His hand, still clutching the torch, tumbled toward the deck.
Thud! Splash!
Cheon Mujul kicked it lightly into the water.
“Idiots! Just throw the torches! Light it, damn you!”
Gwak Yunsang shrieked.
Only then did the sailors and the Seonghajeonbang men hurl torches frantically in all directions.
Whoosh!
Wind rose up.
Cheon Mujul had vanished, and the torches they’d thrown carelessly now hung suspended in the air like kites, drifting gently on invisible currents.
Gwak Yunsang’s eyes went wide with disbelief at the impossible sight; his whole frame trembled.
Snap! Snap! Snap!
One by one, the torch heads were severed and fell into the water instead of onto the ship.
With each torch that extinguished, Gwak Yunsang’s despair deepened.
Cheon Mujul reappeared, moving like wind itself made visible.
Gwak Yunsang felt overwhelming terror at the sight of him—utterly composed, his expression serene and unmoved, his gaze steady and unwavering.
“Ehehehe!”
What had fear done to his mind?
Gwak Yunsang suddenly began to laugh.
“Ha ha ha ha ha!”
His laughter grew louder and louder.
Everyone on the ship stared at him with bewildered eyes.
“Do you think there’s evidence on this ship? You fool—you’ve been completely deceived!”
Gwak Yunsang cried out, his gaze fixed on Cheon Mujul.
Whether his words were truth or falsehood was impossible to discern.
Cheon Mujul met Gwak Yunsang’s eyes directly.
Gwak Yunsang did not avert his gaze, meeting the stare head-on.
As if to say he was not lying.
But it was a fatal mistake.
Through Gwak Yunsang’s eyes, Cheon Mujul read his spirit and heart.
It was no art of mind-reading.
It was perceiving the trembling of his spirit and will, the way they wavered beneath the surface.
The Tae Sang Guan Jeon Beop.
Originally a discipline of training—one that steadies a wavering mind and cultivates the spirit.
During twenty years of training in the underground chamber beneath the Sword Pavilion, it was the Tae Sang Guan Jeon Beop that had allowed him to endure and overcome countless tremors of the mind.
And now, Cheon Mujul had applied it to observe the depths of Gwak Yunsang’s heart.
“Beneath that confident exterior, your mind churns with great turmoil.”
At Cheon Mujul’s words, Gwak Yunsang realized everything had been exposed.
He had resorted to stratagems to escape the crisis by any means, yet they had all been seen through.
But neither could he stop here.
“Absurd! Are you claiming to read minds?”
“I won’t belabor the point. Whether your words are truth or falsehood, I follow what I believe.”
Having already seen through Gwak Yunsang’s lie, Cheon Mujul had nothing to fear.
“Turn the boat around.”
At Cheon Mujul’s command, the frightened sailors rushed to obey.
“Don’t turn it!”
Gwak Yunsang cried out in an instant.
That cry was definitive proof that everything he had said until then was a lie.
Slash!
In that moment, Gwak Yunsang’s head fell from his shoulders.
Cheon Mujul, who had appeared before him and drawn his blade across the man’s throat, spoke again.
“Turn the boat around. I will not kill you.”
At those words, the sailors hurried to turn the vessel back toward Pogu.
Once Cheon Mujul confirmed the bow had turned, he regarded the now-ashen members of Seonghajeonbang and spoke.
“If you wish to live, jump from this boat at once. Then I will not pursue you.”
A man who had sliced Gwak Yunsang down without hesitation was now telling them to jump overboard, and that he would spare them.
It was impossible to know how much of this to believe.
Splash!
Then one man leaped from the boat.
The reasoning was simple: if death awaited either way, it was better to jump first and see what happened.
Splash! Splash!
Once one had jumped, the Seonghajeonbang members dove into the water in unison.
Cheon Mujul watched them without expression, then turned his gaze toward Pogu, where Bukgung Danya waited.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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